recovery, with interest, of any unpaid balance of school moneys that shall appear to have been in the hands of any previous Town Superintendent on leaving his office, either by the accounts rendered by such Town Superintendent, or by other sufficient proof. In case of the death of such Town Superintendent, such suit may be brought against his representatives, and all moneys recovered are to be applied in the same manner as if they had been paid over without suit.

By § 30, the Town Superintendent of common schools in each town, has the powers and privileges of a corporation, so far as to enable him to take and hold any property transferred to him for the use of common schools in such town.

A mere transfer of vouchers or receipts, by a Town Superintendent, on the expiration of his official term, is not such an account as the law contemplates. There must be a written statement of the amount of moneys received, appropriated and expended by him; and this statement must be filed and recorded by the town clerk.-Com. School Dec. 189.

The written approbation of the Town Superintendent to be endorsed on the warrant is, by the 113th section of the act of 1843, (No. 133) made requisite to the validity of any second or subsequent renewal of a school district warrant for the collection of a tax list or rate bill. This approbation should be granted only where a satisfactory excuse is shown for the omission to collect the amount specified in the warrant within the time prescribed by law, and extended by one renewal. Taxes and rate bills should be promptly collected; and in ordinary cases sixty days affords ample time for this purpose; and further indulgence should in no case be granted excepting under special and peculiar circumstances.

By § 70 (No. 92) of the school act, it is provided that "no tax to be voted by any district meeting, for building, hiring or purchasing a school house shall exceed the sum of four hundred dollars, unless the Town Superintendent of common schools of the town in which the school-house is to be situated, shall certify in writing, his opinion that a larger sum ought to be raised, and shall specify the sum; in which case, a sum not exceeding the sum so specified shall be raised." And by §1 of chap. 44, Laws of 1831, Sec. 73, (No. 95,) "Whenever a school house shall have been built or purchased for a district. the site of such school house shall not be changed, nor the building thereon be removed, as long as the district shall remain unaltered, unless by the consent, in writing, of the Town Superintendents of Common Schools, of the town or towns within which such district shall be situated, stating that in their opinion such removal is necessary; nor then, unless a majority of all the taxable inhabitants of said district to be ascertained by taking and recording the ayes and noes at a special meeting called for that purpose, shall vote for such removal and in favor of such new site.'

A majority of the taxable inhabitants who are legal voters in the district, present and voting at such special meeting is sufficient, in conjunction with the written certificate of the Town Superintendent to authorize a change of site in an altered dis

trict.

Town Superintendents are bound to furnish answers to all appeals brought from any of their proceedings.-Com. School Dec. 187.

Where a school district is established by the State Superintendent on appeal, Town Superintendents have no power to alter, modify or dissolve the same, without express authority from the State Superintendent; nor can they, without such authority, re-establish a district, or re-publish an order after their proceedings in the same matter have once been set aside on appeal.

Where any school district office is vacated by the death, refusal to serve, removal out of the district, or incapacity of any officer, and the vacancy occasioned thereby shall not be supplied by a district meeting, within one month thereafter, the Town Superintendent may appoint any person residing in the district to supply such vacancy, 877 (No. 98.) If, however, the district, by election, fills the vacancy after the expiration of the month, and prior to the action of the Town Superintendent, such election is valid, and the Town Superintendent cannot subsequently make an appointment.-Com. School Decisions, 179.

By 146 of the act of 1847, (No. 169) it is provided that "In any suit which shall hereafter be commenced against Town Superintendents of Common Schools, or officers of school districts, for any act performed by virtue of, or under color of, their offices, or for any refusal or omission to perform any duty enjoined by law, and which might have been the subject of an appeal to the Superintendent, no costs shall be allowed to the plaintiff in cases where the court shall certify that it appeared on the trial of the cause that the defendants acted in good faith. But this provision shall not extend to suits for penalties, nor to suits or proceedings to enforce the decisions of the Superintendent."

By § 6 of chap. 330 of laws of 1839, § 145, (No. 168) "Town Superintendents of common schools, and trustees and clerks of school districts, refusing or wilfully neglecting to make any report, or to perform any other duty required by law, or regulations or decisions made under the authority of any statute, shall severally forfeit to their town, or to their district, as the case may be, for the use of the common schools therein, the sum of ten dollars for each such neglect or refusal, which penalty shall be sued for and collected by the supervisor of the town, and paid over to the prop er officers, to be distributed for the benefit of the common schools in the town or district to which such penalty belongs; and when the share of school or library money apportioned to any town or

district, or any portions thereof, or any money to which a town or school district would have been entitled, shall be lost in consequence of any wilful neglect of official duty by any town superintendent of common schools, or trustees or clerks of school districts, the officers guilty of such neglect shall forfeit to the town or district the full amount with interest, of the moneys so lost; and they shall be jointly and severally liable for the payment of such forfeiture."

By § 72 (No. 94) It is provided that "in every case where a district embraces a part of more than one town, the town superintendents of the towns so in part embraced, upon application of the trustees of such districts, or of those persons liable to pay taxes upon real property therein, shall proceed to enquire and determine whether the valuation of real property upon the several assessment rolls of said towns are substantially just as compared with each other, so far as such district is concerned, and if determined not to be so, they shall determine the relative proportion of taxes that ought to be assessed upon the real property of the parts of such districts so lying in different towns, and the trustees of such district shall thereupon assess the proportion of any tax thereafter to be raised according to the determination of said superintendents until the same shall be altered by said superintendents until the same shall be altered by said superintendents upon like application, using the assessment rolls of the several towns to distribute the said proportion among the persons liable to be assessed for the same. In cases where two superintendents shall be unable to agree, they shall summon a superintendent from some adjoining town, who shall unite in such inquiry and determination."

Town superintendents are not within the class of public officers required by the Constitution to take the oath of office.

FORMS PRESCRIBED AND RECOMMENDED BY THE SUPERINTENDENT OF COMMON SCHOOLS FOR THE USE OF TOWN SUPERINTENDENTS.

1. FORM OF BOND TO BE GIVEN BY THE TOWN SUPERINTENDENT TO THE SUPERVISOR.

Know all men by these presents, that we A. B., C. D., and E. F., of the town of in the county of are held and firmly bound to J. K. Esq., Supervisor of said town, in the penal sum of [double the amount of school money received in said town from all sources during the preceding year,] to be paid to the said J. K. or his successor in office; to the which payment, well and truly to be made, we bind ourselves and our legal representatives, jointly and severally, firmly by these presents. Witness our hands and seals this day of June, 1851.

Whereas, the said A. B. has been duly elected [or appointed] Town Superintendent of Common Schools for the said town of

Now therefore, the condition of this obligation is such, that if the said A. B. shall faithfully apply and legally disburse, all the school money which may come into his hands during his term of office as such Town Superintend nt, and faithfully discharge all the duties of said office. then this ob igation to be null and void; otherwise to remain in full force and virtue.

Signed sealed and delivered in presence of

(Endorsement.) "I hereby approve of C. D. and E. F. as sureties to the within bond."

J. K.

2. FORM OF A RESOLUTION CREATING A NEW DISTRICT.

At a meeting, &c.

Resolved, That a new school district be formed, to consist of [the present Districts Nos. 1 and 2; or of the present District No. I and a part of District No 2; or parts of Districts No. 1 and No. 2, as the case may be.] which said new district shall be numbered [23] and shall be bounded as follows: [on the north by the north tine of the town of Trenton erly line of the farms and lots of land Jones, William Thomas, &c. on the lots No. 56, 57 and 58, as designated on the map of said town : and on the west by the westerly line of the farms and lots now occupiee by A, B, C, D, &c.]

on the east by the eastnow occupied by Thomas south by the south line of

The formation of the aforesaid district, involving an alteration of District No. [1 and No. 2,] the consent of the trustees of the said districts to such alteration has been presented to the Town Superintendent, and filed with the town clerk. [Or, if such consent has not been given, the following entry should be made: The formation of the aforesaid district, involving an alteration of districts No. 1 and 2, and the consent of the trustees of District No. I to such alteration not having been given, it is ordered that a notice in writing of the said alteration, signed by the Town Superintendent, be served on one of the trustees of the said district.] If the order is made between the first day of December, in any year, and the first day of May thereafter, the following clause should be added, viz: “This order will take effect on the first day of May next, [or on some subsequent day to be specified.]

2. The consent of the trustees of the altered districts may be given by endorsing it on a copy of the order, as follows:

We hereby consent to the alteration made in District No. 2, in the town of Trenton, by the order of which the within is a copy. Dated, &c.

This consent, like all other acts of trustees, should be given at a meeting of the whole, or a majority, when all have been notified to attend. The statute does not require it to be in writing; but it is advisable to prevent disputes, that a written consent should be filed with the town clerk.

3. FORM OF NOTICE TO TRUSTEES NOT GIVING THEIR CONSENT TO

AN ALTERATION OF THEIR DISTRICT.

The Trustees of District No. I, in the town of Trenton will take notice that an order was made this day by the Town Superintendent of Common Schools of the said town, of which the following is a copy, by which certain alterations in the said district are made, as will appear by the said order; and that such alterations will take effect after three months from the service of this notice. [If the expiration of the three months occur between the first day of December and May, then some day subsequent to the to the thirtieth of April should be specified.] Dated, &c.

G. H., Town Superintendent of Common

Schools of the town of Trenton.

[Here insert copy of order of Town Superintendent.]

This notice may be served on any one of the trustees; and it will be found useful to have an acknowledgment of the service by the trustees receiving the notice, endorsed on a copy of it and, filed with the town clerk.

4. NOTICE OF THE FIRST MEETING IN A DISTRICT TO ORGANIZE.

"This is required by law to be given within twenty days, after the formation of any district. If the consent of the trustees of the districts interested, has been given to the alterations covered by the order, then the notice should be for a day as early as may allow sufficient time for general information. But if it be necessary to give notice of the alterations to the trustees of any district, then the notice for the first meeting should specify a day subsequent to the expiration of three months after service of the notice of alteration, because the district cannot organize until after that time.

The notice may be in the following form: To

of Trenton.

9

a taxable inhabitant of District no 23, in the town

Thé town Superintendent of Common Schools of the town of Trenton, having by an order, of which the following is a copy, formed a new district in the said town to be numbered 23, consisting of the territory particularly specified in the said order ; you are hereby required to notify every inhabitant of the said district qualified to vote at district meetings, to attend the first district meeting of the said district, which is hereby appointed to be held at the house of in the said town, on the day of next, at 6 o'clock in the afternoon, by reading this notice